Discovering Portland: OMSI

Yesterday morning, I got a living social notification in my email and the deal of the day was a one-year family OMSI membership for half-price.  I wanted to jump on it, but since we had never been there, I waited.  Peter's parents are visiting us this weekend and it felt like the perfect opportunity to check it out.  So, yesterday afternoon, after Peter got off work (and a morning at the zoo), we headed to OMSI, which is about a 10-minute drive from our house.  Just within the first exhibition room, we knew it was a place we would go often.  It's really awesome!  Here are some photos:

 Our builder boy; already has plans to major in Architecture at Cal Poly SLO

 Earthquake simulation.....not at all authentic.  :)

 Our musical girl, discovering sounds

 There was a video game exhibit there.....of course, our family loved it!

 Portland is such an amazing city!

So, from now until August 31, 2012, we can get up to 6 kids and 2 adult guests per visit (in addition to the 4 of us)!  Plus, we get into the planetarium for free (ok, it's "included" in the membership fee) and 10 Onbimax movie tix.  All that for $72 for the year!  One visit for a family of four, with planetarium purchase is $64.  SCORE!  (Thank you, Living Social.)  We can't wait to go back!

Pierced

Before Kindergarten, we asked Alayna if she wanted to get her ears pierced as a "gift" for starting school.  She was adamantly against it.  But, over the course of the year, many of her classmates and friends got their ears pierced (or already had them pierced).  She started asking to get hers pierced, too, but we wanted to save it for a special day, like her birthday.  It kind of went to the back of everyone's minds until we went to the mall last week and she saw the "piercing pagoda" near the ice skating rink.  She talked about it for several days.  We decided to let her get them pierced as a "back-to-school" gift and decided to get it done this week, while Jeremiah was in CA with Peter's parents.  We took her on a special date to the Lloyd Center and let her pick out some school clothes (she didn't need much, thanks to hand-me-downs from 2 families) with gift cards left over from Christmas.  And while we were there, we took her to Claire's Boutique to get her ears pierced.  She chose a pair of earrings with her "birthstone" (which is really blue Topaz, but the earrings are actually turquoise zirconian).  She was SO brave!  She did great.  And she is so excited to start 1st grade (in 3 weeks!) with pretty earrings.  Our big girl is growing up.....

Getting Ready

Yes, she flinched!

All done!

Pretty ears!

Beautiful girl! 

{4}

Precious Ezra James would be turning 4 today.  Wow.  Time flies.  It doesn't feel like four years.  Some days it feels like yesterday, others it feels like a decade.  And each year, as time goes on, and we celebrate his birth without him, it only seems to get more difficult.  Not easier, like I thought it would be.  The longer I go without seeing his sweet face or holding him close to me, the more I miss him.  We never got to celebrate even one birthday with him, since he went into the hospital on his first birthday, 3 days before the party we planned.  And, every year, in the weeks leading up to his birthday, I sit and wish that I could plan a big birthday party for him.  Write out a list of who to invite, pick a theme, buy him that gift that he'd been hoping for, and make his favorite cake.  But, instead, I just cry and make a cake (or something else) that we like, one that he will never eat.  (And, yes, there is the obvious question of whether he'd even be physically able to eat cake if he were here, but that's a whole other issue.)  It's not how I wanted to celebrate the birth of my third baby, but it is what we've been given, so we do it.

I cannot imagine Ezra as a four-year-old.  He is permanently fixed in my memory as a 12-pound, 4 ounce baby with gold-rimmed glasses, low-set ears, and an awkward-shaped head because of the hydrocephalus.  I can't imagine him walking or talking or running or doing other things that 4-year-olds do.  He'd be starting pre-school this year; maybe, depending on what his physical and developmental needs would be.   I actually think that I am better off not being able to see him as that child.  I think it would make me more sad.  It's a little bit easier just to remember how he was (apart from all of his issues)--a sweet little man, who rarely cried, loved to play with his toys, and had the most precious smile you could imagine.  Either way, the ache I feel from missing him is still ever-present.  Every day.  But, more so on "special" days--holidays, celebrations, and, of course, his birthday.

And, so, today would have been the day that Mr. Ez turned 4.  And, even though its bittersweet for us, we can't NOT celebrate our little man.  This year was a little different because Jeremiah was in CA and couldn't celebrate with us.  After our homemade ice cream sandwiches, we went up Mt. Tabor with his ashes and some balloons.  After sprinkling some of his ashes by a tree, we released the (4) balloons to the skies.  It was a quiet celebration of his short, earthly life.

Happy 4th Birthday, Ezra James.  We miss you.  We love you.

Cookie Bar "Cake"/Ice Cream Sandwich

Balloon Release at Mt. Tabor

Can you see them???

Ashes to Ashes.....

What Would Be

I sit in wonder of what would be

Of the places you'd go, the people you'd see

Wrapped up in thoughts of what you would do

Wondering what things would make you you.

Would you ride a bike and throw a ball?

Wondering if you would be big or small

Would you be able to run and hide?

Would you prefer the swing or the slide?

How much would you laugh and cry?

How fast would the time pass by?

Wondering about the things you'd say

How delightful it would be to see you play.

But, things were not as we were told

You will never grow up, never grow old

You exist in a place far from the earth

You experienced a new kind of birth

And we were left here to ponder this fate

Wondering how much longer we'll have to wait

To see you again, in a whole new light

When all of this wrong will finally be right.

~ SMF 08-12-11

Tillamook and Cape Meares

Today, we went to Tillamook, OR for a short day trip while Peter's mom and cousin were here.  Now, how could we go to Tillamook without visiting the factory of my FAVORITE cheese?  So, that's what we did.  We did a visit to the factory and also drove over to the coast for a lunch picnic.  It was a beautiful day for it.  Then, we headed back to Portland and made a yummy Fondue dinner at home.   I thought it was a fitting meal to conclude our day.  Hooray for cheese!

                                      Yes, we got to eat a few samples.  :)                                         

 Yummy Tillamook Ice Cream!

 Cape Meares

Discovering Portland: Ice Skating

So, we had an impromptu visit to the Lloyd Center today.  Originally, we planned to go to the zoo with the kids, Peter's mom, Peter's cousin (Kim), and Kim's dad (Bill).  However, it escaped our minds that it was "second Tuesday" at the zoo and that meant it was $4.00 to get in (which doesn't affect us, since we are members) and it was CROWDED.  No parking anywhere and the line to get inside was insane.  So, we nixed the idea and started brainstorming about what to do.  After some deliberation, we found ourselves at the Lloyd Center, which is a fancy mall in NE Portland (akin to the Beverly Center in LA or Scottsdale Fashion Square in AZ).  We knew that there was an ice skating rink there, so that's what we decided on.  It was the first time for the kids and the first time in a LONG time for the adults (I hadn't been since 8th grade, at Laurel Plaza, before the Northridge Quake destroyed it).  Despite a nasty fall for Peter's uncle (who is ok, thank the Lord), we had a spectacular time!  Jeremiah did really well for his first time.  Alayna pouted at first, because she couldn't do it, but eventually started having fun just going around the rink, hanging onto the wall.  It was the first time Peter and I had gone together and we loved it!  I definitely see us going there for a date sometime after the kids go back to school.  Peter is great on skates, thanks to hockey, so the rest of us slowed him down.  All in all, even though our plans got diverted, we had a fantastic time!  Yay for ice skating!

Camping in Mt. Hood National Forest

Last weekend, we (Peter, J, and I -- Alayna was visiting Peter's parents in CA) went with a few people from our Home Community to the Mt. Hood area to go camping.  What fun we had!  The weather was PERFECT....not cold, not hot.  The area was so amazingly beautiful.  And we had some great fellowship with new friends.  We were "unplugged" for 2+ days and it was awesome.  For most of the weekend, we didn't even keep track of what time it was.  We hiked, played games, sang songs, told stories, took pictures, and prayed.  It was fun to learn new things about our new friends and get to know each other better.  Our campsite was backed up to the creek, so we got to go to sleep at night listening to the steady roll of the water through the rocks.  It was a better white nose than my fan for falling to asleep.  I actually slept better than I ever have whilst camping.  It was a fantastic weekend.  Peter and I are already talking about trying to sneak in another camping trip before the kids start school (4 weeks!).  Good times!